The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

The two Soviet girls stared in amazement at the small case in Gu’er’s hand. They found it magical—so tiny, yet it held several colors that looked so well-matched.

One of them, who looked a bit younger, couldn’t hold back her curiosity and asked Gu’er a question.

Gu’er didn’t understand, but she figured they were probably asking about the eyeshadow case.

Gu’er pointed to the colors inside the case, then to her own eyelid.

The two Soviet girls understood. The colors in the case were meant to be applied to the eyelids.

’What would these colors look like on our eyelids?’ They looked at Gu’er, thinking the light pink she was wearing was very pretty.

Just then, Li Zhi and Dingzi walked over.

"Oh, good. My eyeshadow case isn’t lost. My lipstick is still here too."

As she spoke, she pulled a tube of lipstick from her purse.

She opened the lipstick, revealing the color inside. The two Soviet girls were amazed again. Such a tiny tube actually contained a paste-like substance that was a beautiful, soft pink.

Gu’er pointed to her own lips, asking if the color had faded. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The two girls realized this was for putting on their lips.

’This Chinese girl has such interesting things. She actually has stuff that can make a person prettier.’

The eyes of the two Soviet girls lit up, and they chattered away at Gu’er, saying a whole lot.

"They said they really like the little case and the little tube you have. They want to buy them and are asking how much."

Dingzi knew Gu’er had only learned the basics, so he translated for her. He hadn’t expected these two Soviet girls to take the bait so easily.

Gu’er could have guessed. ’Women all love beauty, from little girls to old ladies. Anyone with the means would surely want to dress themselves up, to say nothing of girls in the prime of their youth.’

"Brother Dingzi, tell them these are my favorite things. I only brought two sets with me, and I had a really hard time getting them. They’re not for sale."

Gu’er couldn’t say such complex sentences yet, so she had to let Dingzi translate.

Dingzi glanced at Gu’er. ’Didn’t we agree to use this to befriend them? Why won’t she sell now?’ But whatever Gu’er wanted him to say, his job was just to translate it.

Dingzi translated with a deadpan expression. Because he was so expressionless, he seemed very cold, which made the two Soviet girls think he was being serious.

Disappointment flashed across their faces. ’They’re such good, novel things, and we love them! No matter how expensive, we can afford them. With things like these, we could totally one-up the other young ladies at our next party. Just thinking about it makes us happy.’

’But these wonderful things are her prized possessions, and she won’t sell them. Even with money, where else could we possibly buy them?’

Unwilling to give up, the two Soviet girls kept talking, hoping Gu’er would sell them one set. They were willing to pay a high price.

A conflicted look appeared on Gu’er’s face. After a long moment, she opened her bag and let the two Soviet girls pick the ones they liked.

Seeing that Gu’er was willing, the two girls were overjoyed. They opened the two eyeshadow cases. The eyeshadow colors were almost the same, but one lipstick was light pink and the other was red. They had some trouble deciding.

"I can see these two young ladies are very beautiful and sincere. I won’t sell these, but I’m willing to befriend them. If they’re willing, I can give them a set as a gift. However, there’s a trick to applying this makeup, and I can teach them how to use it. Besides, we have many other great things in China that I can bring them in the future. Brother Dingzi, please ask if they are willing."

Gu’er said to Dingzi, then turned to the two Soviet girls with a sincere expression.

Dingzi understood. ’Gu’er is giving them the makeup as a gift to cast a long line for a big fish. Once she befriends them, it will be easier to make requests later on.’

Dingzi translated Gu’er’s words for the two Soviet girls.

The two girls were delighted. Hearing that Gu’er was willing to give them a set, teach them how to use it, and even bring them more good things in the future was wonderful news. They nodded repeatedly, expressing their willingness to be friends with Gu’er, and then invited her to their home.

This was Gu’er’s first time inside a Soviet home. She felt the architecture was completely different from China’s, full of a foreign charm.

The Soviet girls led Gu’er and the others to their rooms. Li Zhi and Dingzi didn’t go inside, waiting outside instead. Although the Soviet girls were relatively open-minded and didn’t mind, Li Zhi and Dingzi had grown up in China and felt it was improper to enter a young woman’s private room.

The rooms here were very different from those in the Northeast. In the Northeast, most homes had heated brick beds, very few actual beds, and not much furniture. This place, however, was different. It looked luxurious and aristocratic, just like what she had seen on TV.

The two of them invited Gu’er to sit down.

Smiling, Gu’er took out the eyeshadow, lipstick, and an eyebrow pencil for them to choose from.

Then, Gu’er helped them by filling in their eyebrows and applying dark eyeshadow. Because people from the Soviet Union tend to have more defined features, they weren’t as suited for light-colored eyeshadow. Darker shades did a better job of accentuating their features.

As for lipstick, Gu’er used a red one on them. This made their lips look fuller, and the red color also appeared more passionate and bold.

The two Soviet girls looked in the mirror and immediately felt they were different. Their features were more defined and brighter, and the lipstick made them as lovely as roses.

One of them hugged Gu’er and thanked her several times.

She also asked for Gu’er’s name and then told her their names.

The fifteen-year-old was Marina, and the thirteen-year-old was her sister, Marisa. They were two sisters who got along quite well.

They loved the eyeshadow and lipstick Gu’er had brought them and said she was very welcome. They sincerely wanted to be friends with her and hoped she could bring them more good things in the future. They also said that from now on, Gu’er could just give her name when she came to visit, and they would instruct the gatekeeper to let her and her friends in.

Gu’er smiled and hugged them back, saying she was very grateful and that it was an honor to be their friend. She promised she would definitely bring them even better things the next time she came.

The three of them—Gu’er, Li Zhi, and Dingzi—left. Gu’er looked back at the street, a slight smile playing on her lips. She was very satisfied with the outcome this time. The three of them hadn’t made contact with the inspector, but as long as she had the Marina sisters on her side, there would surely be an opportunity in the future. Work on that street hadn’t started yet. She just needed to see the inspector before it began.

"Let’s go. We’ll come back next time."

Gu’er’s voice was cheerful. She had already decided what she was going to bring the sisters next time.

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Thanks to Lemon Lemon, Tian Gongnan, Dian Dian Nu Nu, and Super Assassin for the monthly tickets. Thank you all for your support.